The Manual: Getting Masculinity Right.

The Manual: Getting Masculinity Right by Al Stewart

What does it actually mean to be a good man?

In The Manual, Australian pastor Al Stewart tackles that question at a time when public discussion about masculinity can seem dominated by what is supposedly wrong with men. Published by Matthias Media in 2022, this is instead a constructive, practical and unapologetically Christian account of what healthy masculinity can look like.

At the heart of Stewart’s argument is a compelling idea: masculinity isn't principally about status, toughness or domination. Healthy masculinity means accepting responsibility and using your strength and power for the good of others.

That makes The Manual refreshingly strengths-based. Stewart acknowledges destructive male behaviour without treating masculinity itself as a pathology. His answer to bad masculinity is not less masculinity, but better men.

And he gets wonderfully practical...

The book moves from broader questions about masculinity, male and female differences, self-control and growing from boyhood into manhood to the relationships in which character is actually tested: being a son, friend, workmate, single man, husband and father.

Underlying everything is Stewart’s Christian faith. Jesus isn't an optional appendix to his conception of manhood, but its ultimate model: strength expressed through service, responsibility, sacrifice and love.

I particularly appreciate that emphasis. Men need more than endless messages about what they should not be. Boys and men also need a positive vision of the men they can become...

The Manual provides one: mature rather than self-centred; responsible rather than passive; strong enough to serve; committed to family, friendship, faith and duty.

Accessible, humorous and highly practical, this is an excellent book for Christian men; and particularly valuable for fathers, sons, mentors and men’s groups.

The Manual is a thoughtful contribution to rebuilding a positive vision of masculinity. Definitely recommended.

#Masculinity #HealthyMasculinity #ChristianMen #CatholicMen #Fatherhood #MensBooks #MensMinistry #Manhood

 

 

 

By Masculinity Celebrated. 

 

 

(From Digital Anvil )